


we are golden

by doitsushine92



Series: nct supernatural series [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dreamies-Centric, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magik - Freeform, Modern Fantasy, Supernatural Elements, Urban Fantasy, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 05:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16867078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitsushine92/pseuds/doitsushine92
Summary: “My car is parked outside of the diner,” Jungwoo reassures him. “Don’t worry.”“Yeah, but the drive to your place, how far is it?” Taeyong insists. Jungwoo doesn’t reply for some long seconds, and Taeyong nods in understanding. To everyone’s surprise, it’s Jeno who says, “Come stay with us, then. I mean, we got more than enough space, and we like you. Well, minus Dongyoung hyung, but he’ll come around. You’re nice.”“I don’t understand,” Jungwoo stammers.“We run a home,” Taeyong explains. “Well, not us, exactly. Its Taeil hyung’s and Johnny’s place, primarily, but we all live there and anyone is welcome to stay. We got it when Renjun and Ten moved in with us years ago at their old place and we realized there wasn’t any more room in the apartment -"“The point is,” Yukhei interrupts Taeyong’s rambling, flashing Jungwoo a sweet smile, “there’s a spare bed in Kun Ge and I’s room, it’s yours if you want it.”





	we are golden

**Author's Note:**

> hello welcome to my shitshow. this is a continuation for see saw, which you can read or not, it's up to you, since it doesn't really affect what happens here? i don't think you need to read it to understand, but i'd still appreciate it a lot if you did <3
> 
> pls enjoy!

The house is always eerily silent during the nights. When it's daylight, there isn't a moment of silence, not with so many people living here, not with Chenle and Jisung running around the third floor and Donghyuck and Renjun dead-set on terrifying everyone. But after the sun goes down and the moon comes up, when everyone is asleep, the house becomes a ghost town. Usually Dongyoung and Taeyong will be out in town at these hours, because they don’t need to sleep and don’t want to accidentally awake anyone with their arguing – or so they say, but Donghyuck is convinced it wasn’t talking they were doing for them to reach such agreement with Taeil.

That is why, when the door to their room creaks open, Donghyuck is awake within seconds. He can just make out the shadowy figure of Jaemin creeping inside, followed by five more, all of them assembling at the foot of Mark's bed.

"Aw," Donghyuck hears Jaemin coo, "look at them, they're cuddling!"

"Suck a dick, Na," Donghyuck shoots back, but he has no intention to move. "What are you losers doing here?"

Instead of providing an actual answer, Jaemin throws himself on the bed. He lands half on top of Mark and half on Donghyuck, the older boy snorting awake with a surprised expression. Donghyuck stares at Jaemin’s grinning face with a scowl. "Why?" he asks.

"We’re going out," Jaemin informs them. Donghyuck raises an incredulous eyebrow, his eyes flickering to the clock on the bedside table. "It’ll be an adventure!"

"It’s midnight," Donghyuck says, matter of fact. "Where would we even go?"

"Does it matter?" Yukhei asks. Donghyuck remembers the others are in the room too, sprawled on Donghyuck’s unoccupied bed. He has half a mind to tell them to get out. "It’ll be fun!"

Mark finally speaks up, "I don't know, you guys..." Donghyuck is willing to bet he doesn't know what's going on but he's still disagreeing, just in case.

Chenle, the fairy Kun met when the kid wandered into the coffee house, looking too small and defenseless for a seventeen year old, puts on his cutest puppy eyes and whines, "Come on, ge, it's just a night out."

Donghyuck never felt more threatened than when Chenle moved in and charmed the will out of Mark, but he's learnt to take advantage of his opponents, and now the two make a terrible combo for Mark's heart. And besides, Donghyuck won't be going back to sleep anytime now, and it does sound like fun.

"Please, Mark hyung?" he pouts. Mark is done in seconds.

Sneaking out of the house is harder than it should be. Chenle’s wings are big, larger than a pixy's, and even with Mark's spells to make them invisible to the human eye _and_ the shrinking spell he put on them days ago, he still has trouble keeping them from bumping into things. Renjun has to walk right behind him, holding the wings gently in his hands so they don't send any vases flying to the ground. 

There’s also the fact that Yukhei is still a puppy, despite his height and his human years, and he doesn't know the meaning of stealth. Jeno is out of the house in seconds, but Yukhei keeps getting distracted and running into corners. Donghyuck finally puts a silencing spell on him, but that doesn't help much in the focus aspect.

However, the thing that makes the trip nearly impossible is that the house is filled with supernatural creatures with excellent senses, and they have to be extremely careful not to alert anyone. Either the wolves could hear them or the dragons could smell them, and they all know they're done for if Kun finds them. There’s also Taeil, who's only human, but he is a light-sleeper and could wake up if they so much as brush against each other.

It feels like forever before Donghyuck is standing in the green grass outside of the house. There’s a gentle breeze swaying the trees in the forest, ruffling their clothes. Jeno shrunk to cat form when they left Donghyuck’s and Mark’s shared room and is now rubbing up against everyone's legs, purring and nudging them forward. 

"Jeno, please turn back to human," Renjun sighs. "It’ll be too much trouble to get you in anywhere if you're a cat."

"I got your clothes," Jaemin says, switching his backpack to his front. "Come on, let's go over to those bushes - don't look at me like that, Lee, I'm just gonna put your clothes on the ground and leave."

Jeno disappears behind said bushes, but only after Jaemin has come and gone to place his outfit safely on the ground. Jeno’s got some leaves stuck to his sweater when he resurfaces, but he only grins and shrugs after Renjun points it out. "They’ll fall off eventually," he says, brushing one off from his elbow.

"We should get going," Jisung reminds them, standing a few feet away from them. He still hasn't fully warmed up to all of them, but Donghyuck thinks he's well on his way. "Before any of the hyungs wake up."

Jaemin, who’s been pining after Jisung from the second he laid eyes on the siren, turns his heart eyes to him and nods in agreement, flashing the younger boy a charming smile. Donghyuck rolls his eyes as hard as he can, making Jeno giggle. Renjun rolls his eyes too, but his are directed at Jeno instead, and next he starts dragging Jeno to the driveway by the wrist. “We got a long walk ahead of us, sunny boy.”

“Why am I sunny boy?”

“I think getting you a mirror would be the fastest way to answer that,” Renjun grumbles.

Donghyuck makes sure his phone is in his pocket one last time before walking towards the iron gates too, taking Mark’s hand in his to tug him along. Mark stumbles blindly, his eyes still half-closed from interrupted sleep, so he lets Donghyuck guide him. Behind them, Jisung and Chenle hold onto each other for support given the sloppy road, while Jaemin sulks and keeps Yukhei on track, since the big puppy wanders off at the slightest distraction and has gotten lost in the big forest before.

Once they hit the road, they all stand in a semi-circle and stare at each other, kind of how the fishes in Finding Nemo do. “Now what?” Chenle asks.

Jaemin has the gall to shrug nonchalantly, one earbud hanging off his shoulder. “I don’t know. I didn’t really plan that far ahead, I just thought I’d get you out of the house for a couple of hours.”

“Great plan, buddy,” Renjun mumbles, rolling his eyes.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” Jaemin snaps, a little too sensitive given the full moon approaching. “I’m trying to do a nice thing here.” Renjun opens his mouth to retort something that most definitely would only fire Jaemin up more, but Jeno places a placating hand on his forearm and shakes his head at him, silently telling him to drop it. 

A tense silence follows until, “Let’s just walk,” Mark suggests sleepily, “There’s a bus stop about ten minutes from here that can take us to town. Buses to the city don’t run this late but the ones to the rural areas do.”

There’s a murmur of agreement and their group begins shuffling forward, going in the general direction of said bus station. An endless sea of dead leaves crunch under their feet, the last remains of autumn before winter takes over the forest. If it were up to Donghyuck, autumn would be an all year thing; never mind him being a summer child, autumn has better magic aesthetics and he’s all about the stereotypical witch look; like the time he was eight years old and dressed up in his grandma’s robes, put on a bunch of her jewelry and slapped on a witch hat she bought for him at a local costume store. The kids in his neighborhood might have been dicks about it, but Donghyuck thinks he looked amazing.

“I can’t wait for Christmas,” Chenle chirps happily, a spring in his step. He’s holding Jisung’s hand, or rather has his hand dwarfed by Jisung’s, and the siren looks both endeared and mortified that Chenle is practically making him skip too. “Ten-ge said I could help put up the tree and if I was good, I could place the star on top!”

Renjun chuckles to himself on the side, offering Chenle a smile, “That’s his way of keeping the kids in line – he used to do the same to Jaemin and I when we were younger.”

“You talk like you’re that much older than him,” Jaemin snorts. Donghyuck feels a headache starting to form at their constant bickering, and he has half a mind to pull Renjun aside and ask him what’s going on, but knowing him, the pixy will probably shrug him off and claim it’s nothing.

_I’ll wait until we’re alone, _Donghyuck decides. Renjun is better approached with care and your hands raised high, or else he might bite. Kind of like a wild animal, except Renjun also happens to be the smartest person Donghyuck knows.__

__“What are you thinking about?” Mark asks him, startling Donghyuck out of his thoughts. “You got your thinking face on.”_ _

__“I have a thinking face?” Donghyuck frowns._ _

__Mark nods, rubbing his index finger between Donghyuck’s eyebrows to sooth the furrow. “Yeah. Your nose scrunches up and your brows draw together. It’s cute, really. So what is it?”_ _

__“Renjun,” Donghyuck confesses. “And Jaemin. They’ve been fighting a lot lately and it’s making me worry.”_ _

__“So I’m not the only one who’s noticed,” Mark hums. The two shift their gazes to where Jisung is, still holding hands with Chenle, Yukhei draped over the two of them and smiling wolfishly down at the younger Chinese boy, and then towards Jaemin, who’s sulking near the edge of the forest tree line, dragging his feet and looking downright miserable, avoiding with all his might not to look too much at Jisung and Chenle._ _

__“Well isn’t he the poster boy for gay problems,” Donghyuck drawls, quiet enough only Mark can hear him; even with Jaemin’s supernatural hearing. Mark giggles, the sound muffled into Donghyuck’s neck, and the sensation sends a spark of giddiness down Donghyuck’s spine. Donghyuck never thought he could get so sappy until he started dating Mark, and maybe a year ago he would have scoffed, but now he loves every bit of it._ _

__The bus station is deserted when they arrive. It’s just a lonely bench, harsh white lights overhead to ward off the darkness of the night, commercial posters for a drama on one wall and some pills for one thing or another on the other wall. The route, printed on small black letters on the outside wall, says a bus should be arriving in the next four minutes._ _

__“Anyone brought any money?” Jisung asks; just as they’re settling down to wait._ _

__Chenle raises his hand slowly, followed by Jeno and Yukhei. Seven pairs of incredulous eyes turn to Jaemin, who looks down at his feet sheepishly. Renjun sneers, “You dragged us out in the middle of the night to go on a fucking adventure but you didn’t even bring your money?”_ _

__Clearly, the moon is affecting more than one person. Donghyuck wonders what the connection between pixies and the moon is, or if it even exists, or if Renjun is only pissed cause he didn’t get his seven hours of sleep. Jaemin’s nose flares in annoyance at the accusation, his eyes darkening into blood red rather than their usual warm brown, and Jisung scoots closer to Mark for protection._ _

__Honestly, if Jaemin was planning on wooing Jisung, he’s going about it the wrong way. Jisung is too skittish at the moment and displays of anger and dominance like these are sure to turn him off faster than anything else Jaemin might do. “Guys, chill,” Mark warns, the unspoken leader of their group, and Jaemin backs off reluctantly. Renjun scowls even harder but leans into the warmth of Jeno’s hand on the small of his back._ _

__A bus pulls up in front of them, right when the route said it would. The doors whine and creak when the driver pulls on the lever, like the hinges are in desperate need for more oil. While Jeno, Chenle and Yukhei pool their cash to pay for their passes, Donghyuck climbs on, casting a fleeting glance at the driver. He’s about to look away when something catches his attention – the horns peeking out from the driver’s hair and the black eyes, signature of a demon. The driver watches them carefully, obviously seeing their own supernatural traits and choosing not to comment on it._ _

__There are a few other people inside the bus - two teenagers sitting on different ends, both with backpacks clutched to their chests and unseeing eyes; a young boy with a suitcase at his feet, snoring softly against the window; a middle-aged woman with a young boy on her lap, little white wings fluttering softly. The kid has his eyes trained on the driver, and Donghyuck notices how the demon keeps shifting uncomfortably in his seat._ _

__“We’re gonna have to get off the bus at the next stop,” Jeno informs them once the bus starts going again, “since we only had enough cash for that. Chenle brought his credit card but the bus doesn’t take them.”_ _

__“Tell him where the stop is,” Renjun encourages him, pillowing his head on Jeno’s shoulders and letting his eyes slip closed. He’s asleep within seconds._ _

__Jeno sighs and offers Donghyuck a sheepish smile. “The next stop is thirty minutes away and in the middle of the road, about two miles from the city.”_ _

__Donghyuck blinks one, two, three times and smacks Jeno upside the head. “You idiot!” he exclaims. He’s immediately shushed by every other passenger, including the child angel. Donghyuck has never felt more targeted by a creature of light before. “Why didn’t you say anything? We could have walked back home.”_ _

__Jeno shrugs, careful not to jostle his sleeping boyfriend. “We came all this way already; it seemed anti-climactic to just turn back around.”_ _

__Chenle stifles a squealed laughter into the crook of his arm, leaning against Jisung in silent giggles. Donghyuck stares at them a little longer and decides that yeah, maybe this isn’t too bad of an idea. Jisung has smiled more in the past twenty minutes than he has in the two months he’s been living with them, after all. And Mark hasn’t said a word about it so he’s probably not too against the idea, either._ _

__They all drift in and out of consciousness for the rest of the ride, knowing the driver isn’t going to let them ride any further than they paid for. Donghyuck jerks awake when the bus stops abruptly, and he looks out the window to find they’re at a different stop. This one is sitting lonely at the entrance of a field, no lights other than the ones on the road and no commercial ads._ _

__“So we just keep walking straight, then?” Jaemin asks the driver for confirmation, pointing in the general direction. The driver grunts and nods, eager to get them off the bus. As he’s getting down, Donghyuck looks back at the angel and sees he’s smiling at them, and he waves goodbye to Donghyuck with a childish giggle._ _

__Three minutes into their walk, Donghyuck tugs on Yukhei’s shirtsleeve. They’re still wearing their pajamas. “Xuxi, I’m tired. Carry me.”_ _

__Mark snorts at the sight of them, Donghyuck on Yukhei’s back, arms and legs wrapped around his torso and head nestled at the nape of his neck. Donghyuck ignores him; Yukhei is soft and warm and he’s being lulled back to sleep with every step they take. Yukhei is chatting animatedly with Chenle about one thing or another, but he’s got the mind to keep his voice lower than usual, and the vibrations are nice. Jaemin and Renjun are still bickering with each other, but they also use their inner voices and Jeno’s got one arm wrapped around each of them in an attempt to keep the peace._ _

__Many night animals cross their path, but none lingers in their presence for too long. Donghyuck remembers reading about how animals avoid humans, which is why they are more prominent at night time, and Donghyuck always found it hilarious. They might not be humans, either way, but he guesses animals can sense better than to stay near Jaemin. The kid radiates predator even when he’s laughing or sleeping._ _

__The moon is high up in the sky, big enough to illuminate their path even if there weren’t streetlamps spaced out every twenty feet or so from each other. Donghyuck starts counting them but grows bored quickly, lasting until the fifteenth. After that is another round of sleepy hazes and mumbled answers to whatever he’s asked, until Jeno abandons his boyfriend and his best friend - Donghyuck is _insulted_ \- to strangle each other and instead walks towards Donghyuck, set on coaxing a conversation out of him._ _

__“Jeno-yah, I’m tired,” Donghyuck whines. “Lemme sleep on Xuxi’s back for once, you always get to do it.”_ _

__Jeno laughs, good-naturedly. “I know, Hyuck, but the poor thing is gonna grow tired soon.”_ _

__“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Yukhei huffs, the pout palpable in his voice. “Don’t worry, Hyuck, you can stay there for as long as you want.” Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at Jeno, the cat rolling his eyes in retaliation._ _

__“We’re almost there, anyway,” Jaemin butts in. Apparently, he and Renjun are done arguing for now, with the older boy going off to walk alongside Jisung and Chenle. “It shouldn’t be more than ten minutes.”_ _

__“Good,” Mark sighs, “I’m starving and Chenle said he’d buy us food.”_ _

__“I did?” Chenle asks. Mark stares at him until Chenle relents. “Alright.”_ _

__Ten minutes later on the mark they’re arriving to the city. Donghyuck can’t tell for sure what street they’re on, but it’s lively, countless night clubs still open and street vendors selling anything you might want. Mark grabs Chenle by the wrist and drags him to the nearest stand to get hot dogs. Donghyuck jumps off Yukhei’s back, landing on the ground with a huff. “I’d say let’s go to a club but I’m afraid we’re not exactly dressed for the occasion.”_ _

__“Not to mention none of us brought fake IDs,” Yukhei adds. Renjun gives him a disapproving glance, retort at the tip of his tongue but swallows it down._ _

__“Maybe we can find somewhere to sit,” Jeno suggests. “My feet are killing me.”_ _

__They shuffle around the crowd of people until they find an unoccupied bench. It’s barely big enough to fit all of them, but Yukhei lets Chenle and Jisung to sit on his thighs to make room for everyone else. They get some weird looks, but that’s probably just because they’re all wearing their pajamas. Donghyuck is an optimist._ _

__Mark returns with an armful of hot dogs, same as Chenle, which they pass around for everyone. As it turns out, sneaking out of your house really opens your appetite, and they wolf down the food like it’s their last meal. Afterwards, Jeno confesses he has his debit card with him too and enough money on his account to buy coffee, so they set off to find a coffee house that’s still open. It isn’t an easy task at all, but they eventually stumble upon a twenty-four hour diner with a girl dozing off at the counter. She doesn’t bat an eye at their entrance or their outfits and approaches their table with a jar of black coffee and a notepad._ _

__“What can I get you?” she asks, bored out of her mind. Donghyuck feels bad for her – she’s probably a college student._ _

__“Hi, just coffee, please,” Mark orders, flashing a kind smile at her and Donghyuck thinks he has the best boyfriend in the world. “Black for me.”_ _

__The girl nods, pours a cup for Mark and looks around at the rest of the boys. Jaemin copies the request, but the others request milk and sugar to go with it. She finishes serving the coffee in the mugs – she has to retrieve a few from the booth adjacent to theirs – then disappears behind the counter to fetch the cream and sweetener. She drawls she’ll be _right over there_ if they need anything and promptly leaves them to their own devices. _ _

__They don’t talk for a few minutes, quietly sipping at their coffee to get more energy into their bodies before they have to leave the diner. It’s past 2am when Jaemin speaks up, “What do you guys want to do now?”_ _

__Chenle yawns, props his head on his fist and blinks sleepily at Jaemin. “We could go to one of the bridges and see the pretty lights,” he mumbles, then seemingly falls asleep on the spot until Jisung nudges him softly in the ribs and he startles awake._ _

__“Isn’t that far from where we are right now?” Jeno asks. Renjun replies something, but it comes out muffled from where he’s _resting his eyes_ against Jeno’s shoulders. “You’re gonna have to speak up, love,” Jeno giggles. It’s disgustingly endearing and Donghyuck wants to both coo and smash his face into the glass window. _ _

__Renjun, reluctantly, moves away to repeat himself, “I said, we already traveled over five miles, we can walk a little more.”_ _

__“I don’t think so,” Yukhei whines, flopping his head against the table. “Let’s find something to do in the near vicinity. Like, looking at the stars through this window right here, doesn’t that sound nice?”_ _

__Just as Donghyuck is about to offer his own idea, the bell above the door chimes and Jaemin stiffens in his seat, his eyes going wide as saucers as he stares at Mark, the one directly across from him. Mark gives him a questioning look, to which Jaemin mouths, “ _Incubus_.”_ _

__Now, Donghyuck has had his fair share of demons. He can summon them, he can bind them, he can get them down from their murderous highs and he’s even befriended them before. They just rode a bus driven by one, and Donghyuck didn’t mind one bit – his horns were barely visible, after all – so under any other circumstances, Donghyuck wouldn’t really care for the demon that just walked in. Except this particular one has horns that curl high above his head, a sign he excels at what he does._ _

__“Hi, oppa,” the waitress says, a little more excitement in her voice than before as she addresses the newcomer. “Do you want your usual?”_ _

__“Hey, yes please,” the incubus replies._ _

__“He _reeks_ ,” Jaemin mouths at them. The fact that Jaemin can smell him from this distance, coupled with the alleged intensity of it, can only mean he’s just fed, so you know, small blessings, they’re not about to become demon meals._ _

__When the incubus turns his head to the side to look at them, Donghyuck sees how red his eyes are, glowing under the shitty fluorescent lights of the diner, and doesn’t even bother hiding that he’s been staring. What would be the point, anyway? Just as they can see his horns and eyes, he can see them – Chenle’s and Renjun’s wings, to be more specific. The demon offers a quirk of his lips when he meets eyes with Donghyuck, drags his sight over the rest of them before he swivels back around to take his coffee from the waitress._ _

__To no one’s surprise, he makes a beeline for their booth. Donghyuck does the polite thing and scoots over to allow him to sit with them, even if it means Jisung ends up sitting on Yukhei’s lap – again. He offers a quiet thank you and sips at his beverage with passive eyes before speaking, “Isn’t it too late for a bunch of kids to be walking around the city?”_ _

__“I’d take offense to that if it weren’t true,” Renjun says. “In my defense, I was dragged here without my consent.”_ _

__The demon laughs softly, nodding in Renjun’s direction in what they assume means acceptance – and they don’t mean just his reply. “I’m Jungwoo,” he introduces himself, offering his hand forward. Renjun is the first to take it, shaking it firmly with, “Huang Renjun.”_ _

__One by one, the rest of their little group introduce themselves to the incubus. Jungwoo offers small talk at first, and it later evolves into a long conversation that lasts for an hour, even if they still don’t wander into more personal topics, but Donghyuck is positive he’s paying more attention than he seems to be. Jungwoo’s eyes glow bright red whenever a car drives by and illuminates the inside of the diner, but rather than finding him intimidating, Donghyuck discovers he’s growing fond of the demon. Call him crazy – which Mark probably will, and Jaemin, too – but Donghyuck thinks he’s had enough encounters with demons to know when one can be trusted or not, and right now Jungwoo seems about as dangerous as Renjun; which is to say, not _that_ dangerous unless provoked, and Donghyuck has no plans in the near future to do anything that might set him off. _ _

__“So why are you here?” Jungwoo eventually asks, his coffee long gone. The waitress comes around to serve him some more, and the smile Jungwoo offers her explains her excitement when he first came in. After she’s left, Jungwoo meets Jeno’s raised eyebrows with a shrug. “A guy’s gotta eat, you know? And don’t avoid my question, go on.”_ _

__“Ask this one,” Renjun grumbles, pointing his thumb in Jaemin’s direction. Jaemin glares at him out of the corner of his eye, but refrains from rising to the bait. Instead, he says to Jungwoo, “I wanted to get out of the house and brought them with me. And honestly, if they didn’t want to come, then they could have said so – it’s not like I held them at gunpoint.”_ _

__“No, you just whined and begged and threatened not to leave us alone if we didn’t go with you,” Renjun shoots back._ _

__“Quit whining so much,” Jaemin snaps at him. “You’re getting on my nerves.”_ _

__“You’ve been on my nerves all week, Na, get in fucking line.”_ _

__Jaemin’s nostrils flare and he glowers at Renjun, fangs in display and claws starting to grow on his fingers, and Jisung bolts, whimpering that he has to go while fighting Yukhei’s arms around him, climbing over the back of the booth and and all but running until he’s locking himself in the bathroom. Yukhei’s left staring at the now empty space between his body and the table, as if he’s not sure what just happened. Jeno and Donghyuck slap their foreheads in unison, and Renjun at least looks sheepish he let himself get roped into that. And Jaemin? Well, he looks devastated, scrambling out of his seat to race after Jisung. Jungwoo purses his lips and raises his eyebrows, but he doesn’t look any more uncomfortable than the rest of them._ _

__“Asshole,” Chenle grumbles under his breath. “What does Jisung even see in him?”_ _

__“What?” Donghyuck snaps his head towards Chenle. “What did you say?”_ _

__Chenle’s eyes widen at being the sudden center of attention. “I called Jaemin hyung an asshole?” he ventures. “Sorry? But hyung, you gotta admit I’m right.”_ _

__“Not that,” Mark corrects him. “The other thing.”_ _

__“Oh,” Chenle’s face lights up. “What, didn’t you know?”_ _

__“To be honest, I thought you and Jisung were a thing,” Yukhei admits. Chenle stares at him, borderline offended and just the tiniest bit disappointed. Donghyuck finds that very interesting, but keeps that observation to himself._ _

__There’s a murmur of agreement around the table, and Chenle can only gape at the lot of them. “No!” he gasps. “No, Jesus Christ, no. We’re not – Jisung and I aren’t a thing or whatever. He likes Jaemin hyung and I – don’t.” There was another very interesting pause in his sentence, one that not just Donghyuck notices but doesn’t comment on either._ _

__“Plot twist,” Jeno whispers to Renjun. The pixy smiles, which makes Jeno smile even harder. They’re so gross, Donghyuck thinks. Then he remembers he’s holding hands with Mark under the table and that his heart hasn’t stopped racing ever since Mark slyly locked their fingers together and realizes he’s got no legs to stand on. Jeno hums, “Shouldn’t someone tell them? They’re kind of pitiful.”_ _

__On cue, all their eyes turn to the bathroom. Jaemin is leaning against the adjacent wall, his head bowed and his back turned to them. Donghyuck can barely make out his voice, proof he’s definitely talking to Jisung, but he’s too far away to know what he’s saying. Donghyuck doesn’t want to know, either way. That’s their business._ _

__“They’ll work it out,” Jungwoo says, and he sounds very sure of himself. “Trust me.” He then glances at his watch and hums, “It’s almost three thirty. Do you kids need a ride home?”_ _

__“You see how many of us there are, right?” Donghyuck asks pointedly. “We can never fit in just one car.”_ _

__“Yeah, but it’s not like we’ve got enough cash to get back,” Jeno retorts. “In fact, we got _no_ cash. As in, zero.”_ _

__“We could try finding Dongyoung and Taeyong hyungs,” Mark suggests. “They could drive us back.”_ _

__Jeno, Donghyuck, Yukhei and Renjun shout in unison, “No!”_ _

__“Are you insane?” Chenle hisses. “They’ll kill us if they knew we were out of the house, in the middle of the night, walking around with no adult supervision.”_ _

__“Technically, I’m an adult,” Mark points out, “and so is Xuxi. And look, Jungwoo is here! He’s an adult.”_ _

__“Yeah, no offense to Jungwoo, but he’s a sex demon we met one hour ago,” Renjun scoffs. “Taeyong hyung will have a stroke.”_ _

__They go back and forth for some minutes, while Jungwoo sips his coffee and watches them in amusement, then, “How about I go with you to get cash for the bus and then walk you to the station? I don’t feel very comfortable letting you go around alone.”_ _

__“Do you suddenly become a mother goose when you turn of age? Geez,” Donghyuck mumbles, even though he’s secretly pleased Jungwoo wants to stay with them. So he likes the incubus, sue him._ _

__“Yes,” Jungwoo says, dead serious. “So what do you say?”_ _

__The rest of them look at each other in consideration. “I don’t see the harm,” Chenle tries carefully. “Jaemin hyung! Jungwoo hyung is taking us to the ATM, you coming?”_ _

__Only after Jaemin has moved away from the door and is standing a good ten feet from it does Jisung come out, and he makes a beeline for the comfort of Chenle. Jeno makes a quick dash for the counter to pay, and Jungwoo slips a bill towards the waitress to pay for his own coffee, and afterwards herds them all outside. There’s an ATM just a block away from the diner and they make their way towards it, ignoring the strange glances they keep getting from the few stragglers still on the streets. Jungwoo makes a noise in the back of his throat when they walk under a streetlamp, shrugging off Jaemin’s questioning glance. “I just hadn’t noticed you all were wearing pajamas, that’s all.”_ _

__“It’s a fashion statement,” Jaemin murmurs. He looks terrible, and Donghyuck feels so bad for him. Jisung has avoided him ever since they left the diner, scampering away when Jaemin gets too close and Donghyuck has never seen him so sad._ _

__They’ve reached the ATM when Mark sees something on the other side of the street and he shrinks into himself, grabbing Donghyuck’s arm franticly. “Dude, dude, _dude_ ,” he hisses. It only takes a second for Donghyuck to see why he’s so upset, about the same amount of time for Taeyong and Dongyoung to see them, too. And boy, they look pissed._ _

__The vampires are on them in a second, but to Donghyuck’s surprise, they’re not angry or hounding them for answers, demanding to know what they are doing out and about. No, instead they’re just fussing over them, checking to make sure that their clothes and limbs are all there, not a hair out of place and not a scratch on their skin. After they’ve made sure all eight of them are accounted for and totally fine physically, Taeyong smacks Mark’s arm, albeit lighter than he would have had it been Ten or Yuta he was scolding – he did that a lot._ _

__“What the hell is the matter with you?!” he demands. “Kun called us in hysterics two hours ago because you were gone! Everyone’s been looking for you everywhere! Why the hell didn’t you pick up your phones?”_ _

__They fish their phones out of their pants to find endless missed calls, text and voice messages. Donghyuck’s heart sinks when he sees Jaehyun alone has left him a hundred messages, followed by Johnny and Ten with about twenty each, but he’s got at least two from everyone else in the house. He doesn’t even want to think about how distressed Jaehyun is right now. All around him, the boys are But Jaemin looks the most affected out of them, immediately calling Yuta back and apologizing profusely. Donghyuck can hear Yuta and Hansol shouting over each other to talk to Jaemin, which is basically a mix of concerned relief and complete anger._ _

__Jungwoo tries slipping into the background, but Dongyoung sees him, sees the horns, and slams Jungwoo into the wall, holding him up by the lapels of his dress shirt. “What the fuck are you and what are you doing to our kids?”_ _

__Yukhei makes a feeble attempt at interfering and gets shoved away by Dongyoung, who looks downright murderous. “Hyung, trust me, it’s not what it looks like,” he insists, yet it falls on deaf ears. “Hyung, it’s not what you’re thinking,” Yukhei tries again._ _

__“I don’t care,” Dongyoung seethes. Jungwoo’s eyes are wide in surprise, but no fear. He must be confident in his ability to beat Dongyoung in a fight if it were to come down to it. “What am I supposed to think if I find an incubus with you? Especially one who’s _just fed_.”_ _

__“But Jungwoo hyung is a friend!” Chenle defends him, stepping up to their side to look Dongyoung in the eye. “We met two hours ago in a diner a block away. He offered to give us a ride home but we refused since we wouldn’t fit in his car so he agreed to walk us to the ATM and then wait with us at the bus station!”_ _

__“Why were you even at a diner in the city at this hour?” Taeyong insists. “What are you guys doing here?”_ _

__Jaemin raises his hand sheepishly, his other hand still holding his phone to his ear. Taeyong sighs tiredly, rubbing his nose. “I’m just gonna let Yuta and Hansol hyung handle that,” he says, more to himself than to the others. “Still, you just went with it? Didn’t you think they would notice? That we would worry?”_ _

__“Sorry, hyung,” Jisung apologizes, not meeting Taeyong’s eyes. Taeyong sighs again and says to Dongyoung, “Let him go, Doie. Come on, leave the poor guy alone.”_ _

__Dongyoung lets Jungwoo go but not without glaring and huffing. Jungwoo fixes his shirt and dusts himself off, careful not to meet Dongyoung’s eyes in case it sets him off again. “I see you’re in good hands now,” Jungwoo says to the boys, “So I’m just gonna go. I’ll see you around, kids.”_ _

__“Wait!” Chenle exclaims, grabbing Jungwoo’s arm to prevent him from leaving. “Hyung, give me your number, please?” he begs, big puppy eyes on full display._ _

__Jungwoo blinks, not quiet believing what he’s seeing, but he complies Chenle’s wishes anyway. Chenle is static at the prospect of seeing Jungwoo again and makes him promise to come visit them soon. Jungwoo promises as much, ruffling Chenle’s hair affectionately. Before he can leave, however, Taeyong stops him, too. “Are you far from home? It’s really late.”_ _

__“My car is parked outside of the diner,” Jungwoo reassures him. “Don’t worry.”_ _

__“Yeah, but the drive to your place, how far is it?” Taeyong insists. Jungwoo doesn’t reply for some long seconds, and Taeyong nods in understanding. To everyone’s surprise, it’s Jeno who says, “Come stay with us, then. I mean, we got more than enough space, and we like you. Well, minus Dongyoung hyung, but he’ll come around. You’re nice.”_ _

__“I don’t understand,” Jungwoo stammers._ _

__“We run a home,” Taeyong explains. “Well, not us, exactly. Its Taeil hyung’s and Johnny’s place, primarily, but we all live there and anyone is welcome to stay. We got it when Renjun and Ten moved in with us years ago at their old place and we realized there wasn’t any more room in the apartment.”_ _

__“The point is,” Yukhei interrupts Taeyong’s rambling, flashing Jungwoo a sweet smile, “there’s a spare bed in Kun Ge and I’s room, it’s yours if you want it.”_ _

__Jungwoo is adamant at first, hesitant to agree, but Chenle and Jisung gang up on him and he has no choice but to say yes. Chenle cheers and throws himself at Jungwoo’s unsuspecting arms and the demon has no choice but to catch him. Donghyuck joins him on the celebration, clearly very excited he’s getting to befriend a demon without summoning him first – or having to kiss Jaehyun’s ass to let him do it. Jaemin returns from his phone call with a bewildered expression, most likely wondering what all the commotion is about. Jeno is kind enough to bring him up to speed, then not-so-subtle pushing him in the general direction of Jisung. Jaemin stumbles and barrels into Jisung, who yelps and hunches his shoulders up on instinct._ _

__“Yeah, yeah, we’re all very excited to have the incubus join us,” Dongyoung huffs, “but let’s get going. Ten hasn’t stopped blowing up my phone since 2am.”_ _

__Yukhei offers to accompany Jungwoo to his car and direct him to the house, and Chenle insists on going with them too. Dongyoung, expectedly, isn’t too happy to let them go, but Taeyong gives them the green light and they’re gone in a second._ _

__“As for the rest of you,” Taeyong says, and oh oh, they’re in trouble. “Get in the cars. We’re going home. And don’t think you’re off the hook – you’re gonna be hearing from me when we get there.”_ _

__Heads hung in shame; they make a beeline for the cars parked on the other side of the street. With three people gone, there are only six of them to fit alongside the drivers and so it is far easier to work out the seating arrangements. Mark, Donghyuck and Jaemin are lucky enough to ride with Taeyong, and they dive into the car before anyone can protest._ _

__Sensing an opportunity, Donghyuck waits for Taeyong to start driving to twist in his seat and asks Jaemin, “Jaem, what’s up with you and Renjun? You’ve been fighting an awful lot lately.”_ _

__Jaemin has the gall to look sheepish and confused at the same time, which isn’t a good look on him. But he can’t avoid Donghyuck’s eyes for too long, and even Mark is staring at him from the front seat of the car. Jaemin sighs, and says, “Renjun has been on my ass about talking to Jisung for the last two months. I snapped at him the other day to leave me alone and he got mad.”_ _

__“Why didn’t you just apologize, then?” Donghyuck frowns._ _

__“Because there’s nothing I should be apologizing for!” Jaemin exclaims. He gets shushed by Taeyong, but even the vampire is paying attention. The wolf reddens and looks down at his lap. “It’s none of Renjun’s business what I do or not about my crush. He has no right to be hounding me to confess. And the worst part is he’s been messing up this entire night for me! God, Jisung _hates_ me now. I already had the lowest chance on Earth knowing he’s with Chenle, I just wanted him to know, but now he doesn’t even want to be in the same car as me.”_ _

__Donghyuck locks eyes with Mark for a millisecond and they say, in unison, “Chenle and Jisung aren’t dating.”_ _

__Taeyong’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline, but it doesn’t compare to the absolute shock in Jaemin’s face. He pales, reddens and gapes at them at the same time. He blabbers incoherently until Donghyuck offers, “We found out today. We had the same reaction as you, although ours didn’t last so long. You okay there, buddy?”_ _

__“What do you mean they’re not dating?!” Jaemin demands, grabbing Donghyuck’s wrist and tugging him forward._ _

__“Ow,” Donghyuck deadpans with his eyebrows high. Jaemin loosens his grip immediately to let Donghyuck take his hand back, which he does so gratefully. Wolves are strong, okay? And Jaemin goes to the gym, to top it off. “And I meant exactly what you heard. Jisung and Chenle aren’t a couple. That means you’ve got a slightly bigger chance with him than you thought, but only if you stop acting like a dick every time you’re provoked.”_ _

__“It’s not like I do it on purpose,” Jaemin whines, “I just get so mad and you know how hard it is to control that other side of me.”_ _

__“But you have to,” Mark says firmly. “Jisung is never going to trust you unless you show him that there’s nothing to fear. Your growling and claws and eyes aren’t exactly the way to go about it.”_ _

__Jaemin sighs and he deflates along with the air as it leaves his lungs, until he is slumped over and has his head hung forward. Donghyuck feels bad for him all of a sudden, at least more than he did before, because Jaemin looks more hopeless than ever, like the fight has left his body. Donghyuck scoots closer to his friend and wraps him in a hug; lets Jaemin relax in his arms and hide away in the crook of his neck. Doesn’t comment on the wetness that falls on his skin._ _

__“It’ll be fine,” Donghyuck whispers to him. “Don’t worry, Nana, everything will work out for you. The tea leaves said so.”_ _

__Jaemin, despite everything, finds it in himself to chuckle lightly. “You’ve been keeping an eye on my tea? I’d say that’s kind if it weren’t so creepy, Hyuck.”_ _

__“It’s not creepy,” Donghyuck protests, slapping Jaemin’s lower back. “I’m just looking out for you, you asshole.”_ _

__“We’re home,” Taeyong tells them softly as he pulls into the driveway._ _

__Donghyuck sighs when he sees everyone is waiting by the door, standing around like worried goose mothers. Taeyong parks his car on the edge of the grass and unlocks the doors, but doesn’t move. “You might wanna prepare yourselves for some light ass whooping. Nothing physical, emotional ass whooping,” He warns them and his voice softens when he adds, “but Nana, if you want, I can talk to Yuta and Hansol hyung? Tell them why you were -”_ _

__“No,” Jaemin interrupts him firmly. “No, thanks. I’m already embarrassed enough and I don’t want the entire house finding out too.”_ _

__Taeyong purses his lips in disagreement, a response ready at the tip of his tongue, but one look at Jaemin’s pleading face and he folds like a piece of paper. So he nods, and he lets them out of the car. “Alright, then, let’s go.”_ _

__As expected, Donghyuck and Mark are nearly knocked on their asses in a matter of seconds by Jaehyun, who hugs them tight enough to leave the imprints of their chins on his shoulders. “Hyung, please,” Donghyuck whines, his voice muffled against the cloth of Jaehyun’s hoodie, “I can’t breathe.”_ _

__“You can’t breathe?!” Jaehyun exclaims as he suddenly pulls them away, holding them by the scruff of their necks. “Believe me; you’ll know what it’s like not to breath after I put you ten feet under! Do you have any idea of how worried I was? What the fuck were you thinking?”_ _

__Mark and Donghyuck lock eyes and their decision is made: for the sake of Jaemin, they won’t tell the real reason they were out. They’ll stick to the adventure excuse, at least until Jaemin decides it’s time to come clean – if he decides so. “We went out,” Mark says, indirectly taking the responsibility, “to have an adventure. I guess. It was fun?”_ _

__Jaehyun bristles, huffs and spins on his heels, marching off to where Sicheng is sleepily hanging over Renjun. Kun, who’s standing next to them, doesn’t look very happy about not having Chenle in his line of sight, but Renjun can be seen explaining to him that the fairy is with Yukhei and that they’ll be back soon._ _

__“You let them go with an _incubus_?” Ten hisses at Taeyong incredulously in an attempt not to draw any attention to them, but Kun hears, and the dragon is so taken aback a puff of fire leaves his nose in an exhale. Ten says to him, “Kun, please don’t incinerate my child, thanks.”_ _

__“Not your kid,” Renjun mumbles. Sicheng is carefully dusting off the soot from his shoulders, a couple of small strands of hair singed at the tips._ _

__Ten gives him a hard look. “I feed you; I put clothes on your back and a roof over your head. I raised you. You’re my kid.”_ _

__“Ten is my dad?” Renjun whispers to himself and Jeno giggles from his own place between Dongyoung and Taeil. Renjun sticks his tongue out at his boyfriend._ _

__“You’re damn right I’m your dad,” Ten calls._ _

__“Shouldn’t they be here by now?” Kun frets. Hansol, who so far had been keeping Jaemin on a tight grip, lifts his nose in the air and sniffs for a second, then says to him, “They’ll be here in a second.”_ _

__“Yeah, I hear them,” Dongyoung confirms, albeit grumblingly._ _

__On cue, a small black Sedan peeks around the corner. Since none of its occupants has the keys to the gates, Taeyong excuses himself and makes a quick dash for the entrance to pry them open, just enough for the car to pass through. Jungwoo parks his car behind Taeyong’s, kills the engine and sits inside for all of five seconds until Chenle grows tired and physically drags him out, blabbering introductions. Yukhei hangs back, only because he can see the death glare on Kun’s face and he doesn’t want to be subjected to his anger._ _

__“And this is Kun ge!” Chenle finishes with a flourish, thrusting Jungwoo towards the older boy. “He’s a dragon!”_ _

__Jungwoo smiles shyly and offers his hand, just like he did with everyone else, and maybe it’s his display of good manners, maybe it’s the smile, but Kun doesn’t stay mad for too much longer, or at least it dissipates enough for him to smile back and say, “Hi, Jungwoo, welcome to our home.”_ _

__A harsh red spreads over Jungwoo’s cheeks, neck and ears upon hearing the word home. Johnny must sense he’s getting overwhelmed and swiftly steps in, puts an arm around Jungwoo’s shoulders – he’s pleased to find the demon is taller than he seems, and a lot sturdier, too – and steers him towards the front door, saying, “See, guys? I told you something good would come out of this!”_ _

__“No, you didn’t.”_ _

__“You said no such thing.”_ _

__“When the fuck did you say that?”_ _

__Johnny shoots Taeyong, Yuta and Ten a harsh look. “I thought it, okay? I would have said it if you three hadn’t been crying all over my couch. And besides, look at this face!” he coos, squishing Jungwoo’s cheeks, “How can you stay mad?”_ _

__“You’re scaring him,” Hansol warns him. Johnny ignores the wolf in favor of telling Jungwoo about the house, the history, the rules, etc. With the boys safe and back home, the excitement of the night dies out and everyone is left to drag their exhausted bodies inside. But of course, they pass the Wall of Fame._ _

__“What’s that?” Jungwoo asks curiously. Some linger, like the kids, but most of them continue their trek further inside the house, eager to sleep._ _

__“Ah!” Ten jumps up, proud of his accomplishments as always. “This is the Wall of Fame. Photos of everyone who’s lived here with us. Which reminds me,” he says ominously, flying off to God knows where, his small wings carrying him with a strength that still surprises them._ _

__“This is the most recent one,” Johnny tells Jungwoo, pointing to a Polaroid taped on a string hanging between two wall lamps. Jungwoo steps in to take a closer look, smiling faintly at the finger horns Donghyuck is making behind Mark’s head, Renjun’s exasperated slash fond expression at being sandwiched between Jeno and Jaemin and their kisses pressed to his cheeks, Chenle and Jisung hanging off Yukhei’s larger frame. In all, there are eighteen people on the frame, everyone smiling and looking like a family. Actually, all the Polaroids, either taped to the wall or hanging from a string, depict the same scenario. Some photos have more girls than boys, some have the same amount and others are mostly boys. There must be a hundred pictures total, if you count the individual shots along with the family pics._ _

__“It’s so pretty,” Jungwoo murmurs softly. Johnny smiles, obviously having heard him, and he claps Jungwoo on the back. “But how did you get all those wings and horns and halos to appear on the photos?”_ _

__“That would be me,” Donghyuck waves his fingers, self-satisfied. Mark rolls his eyes and nudges his ribs. Donghyuck winces, but corrects his statement, “Okay, fine. It was a team effort.”_ _

__“Impressive,” Jungwoo praises. Donghyuck does not blush. Ridiculous._ _

__“I’m back!” Ten announces. Jungwoo turns around to find him proudly holding a Polaroid camera in his hands. “Jungwoo-ssi, pose.”_ _

__“Just Jungwoo, please,” Jungwoo says. “Um, does it have to be now? I’m not really,” he trails off, waving vaguely at his body. Ten flaps his hand in dismissal, telling him, “Nonsense, you’re fucking beautiful. It makes me mad.”_ _

__“It’s just the demon thing,” Jungwoo says weakly, patting down his hair and shirt, “It makes you find me more attractive than I actually am.”_ _

__“Actually,” Yuta pipes up from the other end of the hall, “We got protection charms around the house that prevent magic from affecting us much, so it really is all you that’s making Ten froth at the mouth.”_ _

__“Kind of how when he met Taeyong,” Johnny adds. “He could not stand meeting someone so hot so he put Taeyong in a head lock within five minutes.”_ _

__Jaemin bursts into sudden laughter, staring at Renjun incredulously. Renjun, not batting an eye, says, “Fuck off.”_ _

__“Look, I can’t help it,” Ten protests, a strange twinkle in his eyes that can only mean trouble. “As a certified twink, I am -”_ _

__As intended, the kids explode into shouts of “No!” and “La la la!” as they cover their ears and escape the hall, running off to safety. Ten takes his chance and snaps a photo of Jungwoo mid-laugh, looking away from the camera so only his side profile is seen, the collar of his shirt askew and his hair flopping around like a puppy’s, horns glinting in the light of the flash. Ten grins like the cat that got the milk and flaps the Polaroid in success. “This might just be the best photo I’ve taken,” he says honestly._ _

__While Johnny goes to fetch the blue tape and Yuta going to fetch everyone from their beds at the command of Ten, the pixy stays in the hall with Jungwoo and offers him a sweeter smile, one meant not to tease or annoy but to soothe him and tells him, “Really, Jungwoo, you’re beautiful, and it’s not the demon thing. Don’t pretend like you didn’t see Sicheng ogling you when you got here. And Johnny. And Yuta. And –”_ _

__“Ok!” Jungwoo interrupts him, beet red. “Yeah, I did see that.”_ _

__Yuta returns, followed by the other inhabitants of the house. It’s important to remark how utterly unhappy they all seem to be about getting dragged out of bed, minus the younger ones, of course. They don’t have old men bones like Taeil does._ _

__“Why,” Sicheng groans._ _

__“I wanna take the next photo with the sunrise as background,” Ten honest to God chirps. He herds everybody out of the house and towards the treeline, but not without loud complaints and subtle death threats aimed his way. He avoids Hansol’s sharp claws looking to embed themselves on his forearm as swiftly as he sidesteps Taeyong’s outstretched foot. “Ok, stand facing this side,” he instructs, angling them so the sun goes up right behind them. “And remember to smile! I’m looking at you, Yuta. Jae, do you mind…?”_ _

__Jaehyun takes the Polaroid from his hands and mutters a short enchantment so it will float at eye level with them and will take the picture by itself then put it in place to join the others. “In three!” he announces._ _

__“Three!”_ _

__Ten dead-weights on top of Taeyong, nearly knocking them to the ground and taking Jungwoo with him._ _

__“Two!”_ _

__Mark swings an arm over Donghyuck’s shoulder, the shorter witch tugging Jisung to pose with them, Jaehyun behind like a proud mother._ _

__“One!”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> [my cc](https://curiouscat.me/doitsushine92/html/)


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